Reflective practice for library & information workAndrew Preater @preaterMaisoon Al-Jawad @maisoonie

Workshop for CPD25 Aspects14.00-16.00, Thursday 24 November 2016

14.00 – 14.30 Introduction to reflective practice14.30 – 14.40 Exercise: 6 minutes' write14.40 – 15.00 Break15.00 – 15.15 Exercise: reflective writing15.15 – 15.45 Exercise: interviewing to find

perspective15.45 – 16.00 Wrap-up and closing thoughts

‘Reflection house’ by Andrew Preater, license CC-BY-SA 4.0 International.

Everything you always wanted to know about reflective practice*

* but were afraid to ask

What effective reflective practice is not

RuminationAssigning blameProject lessonsBox-tickingOnly for subject librarians :)

What reflective practice is about

“[T]he development of insight and practice through critical attention to practical values, theories, principles, assumptions and the relationship between theory and practice which inform everyday actions”

Bolton (2014) p. xxiii

“…critical attention to practical values…”

Bolton (2014) p. xxiii

Single-loop and double-loop learning

Argyris and Schön (1974) pp.18-19

O’Brien, E. (2016) ‘Reflective practice as a useful everyday tool’, Elly O’Brien, November 2. Available at: https://ellyob.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/reflective-practice-as-a-useful-everyday-tool/

‘Domains’ of reflection

Smith, E. (2011) ‘Teaching critical reflection’, Teaching in Higher Education, 16 (2), pp.211-223 [Online]. doi:10.1080/13562517.2010.515022

Personal

Interpersonal

Contextual

Critical

Interactions with others

Concepts, theory, & methods

Political & social contexts

Thinking

(about self / society)

Learning

(knowledge & processes)

Assessing

(value / affect)

Where is the critical librarianship?

http://critlib.org/ #critlib

ValuesAssumptionsBeliefs

Contextual

Critical

Linking reflection to action is critical practice.

Congruence:Espoused theory vs.theory-in-use

Argyris and Schön (1974) pp.20-34

Congruence:Espoused values vs.values-in-practice

Bolton (2014) pp.xxiii

“[T]heory emerges from the concrete, from my ef‌forts to make sense of everyday life experiences, from my ef‌forts to intervene critically in my life and the lives of others…”

hooks (1994) p.70

What’s the benefit?

Personal growthDeveloping valuesSelf-determined learning / heutagogy

Some challenges

“I don't have the time” / not the best use of my timeExposure to riskIntrospective / self-absorbedNo-one else does it / it is not valuedLacking power to affect change

This is worthwhile to enable your learning and development.

Exercise: Six Minutes’ Write

“The leader of the troop unlocked his word hoard”‑

Heaney, S. (1999) Beowulf: London: Faber

Exercise: your critical incident

15 minutes!

Suggested method:

1. Write as descriptively as you can, including detail2. Give it a title, as if it were a book or film3. At this stage, don't be critical or ask “Why?”

Exercise: gaining perspective

10 minutes each

Worked example

“Method Man”

‘Method Man @ Sound Academy’ by Flickr user The Come Up Show, CC-BY-SA-NC https://flic.kr/p/9vpeYF

Suggested method:

1. In pairs, interview each other. The interviewer is to help get to the root causes – to ask “Why?”

2. You can use questions from the handout to prompt this.

Wrap + questions.

References / bibliographyArgyris, C. and Schön, D.A. (1974) Theory in practice: increasing professional ef‌fectiveness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-BassBolton, G. (2014) Reflective practice: writing and professional development. 4th edn. London: SageBrookfield, S.D. (1995) Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‑BassGardner, F. (2014) Being critically reflective: engaging in holistic practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacmillanHeaney, S. (1999) Beowulf. London: Faberhooks, b. (1994) Teaching to transgress: education as the practice of freedom. New York, NY: RoutledgeO’Brien, E. (2016) ‘Reflective practice as a useful everyday tool’, Elly O’Brien, November 2. Available at: https://ellyob.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/reflective-practice-as-a-useful-everyday-tool/Smith, E. (2011) ‘Teaching critical reflection’, Teaching in Higher Education, 16 (2), pp.211‑223 [Online]. doi:10.1080/13562517.2010.515022